(RFE/RL)
PRAGUE, March 13, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan has pledged to provide assistance in building a new bridge linking Tajikistan and Afghanistan, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

The embassy said in a statement the United States would help improve the police and customs facilities at both ends of the bridge now being built over the Pyanj River. The bridge is expected to be completed in mid-2007.

The embassy said the bridge would be a key element of the infrastructure that will promote trade and commerce along a route leading from Almaty, the business capital of Kazakhstan, to the international port at Karachi in Pakistan.